Send up a satellite to zap space junk if you want Earth's orbit to be clean, say boffins

A group of scientists have proposed a new method to clear up space junk using a satellite that shoots out powerful beams of plasma. Researchers from the Tohoku University, Japan, and The Australian National University, think that potential debris disasters might be averted by sending up a cleaning probe. The satellite works by blasting two plasma beams in opposite directions. The idea is that the particles in the gas exert enough force to slow down the cosmic trash down and knock it out orbit, where it proceeds to fall into Earth’s atmosphere and is naturally destroyed by burning up. More

(Source: The Register - Sep 30)